Conventional portable telephones of the foldable type comprise a manipulation-side cabinet 10 and a display side cabinet 20 which are connected to each other by a hinge mechanism 30 as shown in FIG. 10 (see JP-A No. 2000-253124, JP-A No. 2001-298516 and JP-A No. 2001-320464). The manipulation-side cabinet 10 comprises a rear cabinet half segment 40 and a front cabinet half segment 50 joined thereto, and a plurality of manual keys are arranged on the front cabinet segment 50. The display-side cabinet 20 comprises a front cabinet half segment 60 and a rear cabinet half segment 70 joined thereto, and the front cabinet segment 60 is provided with a display.
The front cabinet segment 50 of the manipulation-side cabinet 10 is provided with an opposed pair of first annular piece 56 and second annular piece 57 projecting from one end thereof. The front cabinet segment 60 of the display-side cabinet 20 is provided with an opposed pair of first annular piece 66 and second annular piece 67.
The first annular piece 56 of the manipulation-side cabinet 10 and the first annular piece 66 of the display-side cabinet 20 are arranged side by side in contact with each other and have fitted in the interior thereof a hinge unit (not shown) providing the hinge mechanism 30. Further the second annular piece 57 of the manipulation-side cabinet 10 and the second annular piece 67 of the display-side cabinet 20 are arranged side by side in contact with each other and have fitted in the interior thereof a hinge unit (not shown) providing the hinge mechanism 30.
The front cabinet segment 50 of the manipulation-side cabinet 10 is provided with a projecting circular-arc piece 58 positioned between the first and second annular pieces 56, 57, while the rear cabinet segment 40 is provided with a partial member 46 joined to the circular-arc piece 58 for forming a hollow cylinder. The front cabinet segment 60 of the display-side cabinet 20 is provided with a projecting circular-arc piece 68, while the rear cabinet segment 70 is provided with a partial member 74 joined to the circular-arc piece 68 for forming a hollow cylinder.
With reference to FIG. 11, a circuit board 13 mounted on the front cabinet segment 50 of the manipulation-side cabinet is electrically connected to a display 25 mounted on the front cabinet segment 60 of the display-side cabinet by a flexible lead 80. The flexible lead 80 is helically wound inside the hollow cylinders provided between the first and second annular pieces 66, 67, whereby the flexible lead 80 is allowed to deform with the opening or closing of the manipulation-side cabinet and display-side cabinet (see FIG. 12).
With the portable telephone of the foldable type shown in FIG. 10, however, it may be attempted to forcibly close the manipulation-side cabinet 10 and the display-side cabinet 20 with extraneous matter held between the two cabinets 10, 20. In such a case, a force acting to move the two cabinets 10, 20 away from the hinge mechanism 30, i.e., a spreading force, will act on the cabinets with the extraneous matter serving as a fulcrum.
The front cabinet segment 50 of the manipulation-side cabinet 10 and the front cabinet segment 60 of the display-side cabinet 20 are attached directly to the hinge mechanism 30, whereas the rear cabinet segment 40 of the manipulation-side cabinet and the rear cabinet segment 70 of the display side cabinet 20 are merely fastened with screws at several locations, in engagement with the respective front cabinet segments 50, 60 and are not joined to the hinge mechanism 30. This results in the problem that the spreading force acts to create a clearance especially at the joint A between the front cabinet segment 60 and the rear cabinet segment 70 of the display-side cabinet 20.
Further if the rear cabinet segments of the two cabinets are merely removed as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 in the case where the hinge mechanism 30 is to be removed for the maintenance of the telephone, the flexible lead 80 is exposed as bulged outward between the first annular piece 66 and the second annular piece 67 of the front cabinet segment 60 of the display-side cabinet. It is therefore impossible to insert a removing jig into the hinge mechanism 30 because the flexible lead 80 will interfere with the jig. Accordingly, there is a need to remove the display 25 from the front cabinet segment 60 on the display side and the circuit board 13 from the front cabinet segment 50 on the manipulation side if the hinge mechanism 30 is to be removed, hence the problem of cumbersome work.